Fakhoury in Ajloun to raise awareness of financing programmes

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Thursday briefed local officials and community representatives in Ajloun on the government’s development plans and loans available in the northern governorate.

Fakhoury said the government is spending JD64 million on projects in Ajloun in 2016, according to a ministry statement.

Through the ministry’s programme to enhance economic and social productivity, several projects are being implemented or planned by local community organisations and individuals, worth JD1.608 million, the minister said.

Two productive branches in Wahadneh and Orhan are being developed in cooperation with the Labour Ministry, at a cost of JD547,000, and a cultural centre is being established in Ajloun, costing JD263,000, he added.

Meanwhile, the ministry is working with the Development and Employment Fund to offer JD500,000 in soft loans to unemployed youths, Fakhoury said.

The government has also increased the financial allocations for national credit corporations for 2016 to 2018 to help create job opportunities, he added.

The ministry has cooperated with various government institutions, including the General Budget Department, to allocate JD6 million to development priorities in Ajloun, some 70km northwest of Amman, which was not listed in the ministries’ 2016 budget.

Regarding the Syrian refugee crisis, Fakhoury explained that financing was directed in line with the Jordan Response Plan to the most affected sectors, including JD5.7 million allocated to education and health in 2015-2016.

The ministry’s Governorate Development Department Director Hatem Habahbeh gave a presentation on progress in the Ajloun development programme, and the ministerial team listened to citizens’ demands.

The meeting also aimed to raise awareness of ways to benefit from the government’s financial programmes and national credit corporations’ plans for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Mohammad Adayleh, local development programmes director for the ministry, also gave a briefing on government loans available to citizens, detailing the target groups, funding limits, repayment period and interest rates, as well as the funding standards of each financial institution.

The government team encouraged citizens to establish self-employment businesses to empower the local community.

Ajloun Governor Falah Sweilmyein, local senators and council members, mayors, presidents of the Ajloun trade and industry chambers and representatives of local organisations, women, youth and the private sector attended the meeting.